Ilona Steingruber’s Lulu has really grown on me, the past year. That 1949 recording, conducted by Herbert Häfner, sounds like an operetta gone off the rails. Insteading of making the work less frightening, the effect is actually the opposite. Fascinating recording!

Amazing Alberto Zedda yesterday in Antwerp, conducting Rossini’s Otello for the first time. The 86 year old maestro had lost none of his passion for the composer, and was as animated and brilliant as ever. Rarely did the orchestra sound as ardent and beautiful.

Triumphs for Gregory Kunde (Otello) and Carmen Romeu (Desdemona) too. Kunde was amazing, a powerful, masculine sound, with a beautiful timbre, fearless. I loved Romeu, who looked fabulous in her little black dress, and has a vibrant sound, and a special edge to her voice that suited the character very well, both in the more dramatic passages, and in that stunning third act.

In April, Bartoli and Osborn will do this production (“the fridge Rossini”) in Paris, but Zedda, and this cast should not be missed.

So happy that you were able to attend Zedda’s Otello. He is indeed amazing both as a conductor and a teacher. He has played a big role in the Rossini renaissance ( the most recent one) and people seem to love to work with him.

He also “single handedly” trains the next generation of young Rossini singers at the Accademia Rossiniana in Pesaro, Italy every summer.

I was happy to be there! There was a loud Viva Zedda! from the audience when the orchestra returned after intermission. People were thrilled to have him back, as they should. He looked a little small for his tux, but I could not believe he was 86! Outstanding first act finale, brilliant second act, with a few singers getting overexcited there, but it all came together in act three, which was a miracle. Romeu there just meltingly beautiful. She is a Pesaro singer, not, like the Emilia, the fine Raffaela Lupinacci?
I have a ticket for a Bartoli/Osborn evening in Paris, but I doubt that will be as exciting as yesterday night.

Thanks for the report, Buster. Lucky you! Did you hear that Zedda fainted during a concert performance of La Donna del Lago last summer in Pesaro? After a short time he returned to the podium in his shirtsleeves and finished the performance.

A few years ago Palm Beach Opera brought in Zedda to conduct L’Italiana, and he raised the (usually mediocre) playing level of the orchestra by several notches. They also allowed him to pick some of the singers, and he cast two Pesaro regulars in the lead roles (Enkelejda Shkosa and Lorenzo Regazzo).

For those who have ordered tickets for this years Festspiele I went into the box office yesterday and asked about the stand of things. They said they are overwhelmed with requests and it will take between 4 and 6 for them to sort things out and then to do a lottery as to who gets what. No need to call up or write before that since the longer they are held up the longer it will take. The things most in demand are Tosca, Macbeth and Forza and for those who ordered things other than that, it looks very promising. The Tosca was the first thing to sell out on the Saturday of the counter sale. For Macbeth it took longer since everyone was only able to buy two tickets instead of the regular 4. So everyone just needs to be patient.